Not Quite The Last Airbender
by Kirawr
Summary: When Swift's twin, Aang, finds out he's the avatar and runs away from the temple she must try and get him to come home. When she passes out in a cave while looking for him, she will wake to find that the world is a very different place, but her brother is still out there, and she has to find him. Set in AU, the twins are fifteen years old.
1. Lost

Swift stared at the note, her eyes swelling with tears, tears of anger, of betrayal. The monks had always taught the nomad children to control their emotions, to let worries float away like dust in the wind.

But this wasn't just any worry. Aang had run away. She crumpled the piece of paper in her hand, he'd left her it on her window sill, and she'd awoken to it. They were fifteen years old, and her twin had just been told he was the Avatar. She hadn't had the chance to see him yet, as they trained in different parts of the temple, boys and girls rarely allowed to see each other.

There was a storm outside, a bad one. She feared for her brother, they had always shared a deep bond, and she had a gut wrenching fear that she wasn't sure was her own. Unable to contain herself any longer, she left her room, her own note on her bed, explaining her need to go and find Aang. She snuck into the bison pen, and Ivy roared happily, approaching her with heavy footsteps. She could hardly hear her best friend's greeting over the sound of wind and rain, but it didn't matter, they communicated more through their eyes and expressions anyway.

She stroked her soft fur, kissing her ear before climbing on her back. Her angry tears still burned on her cheeks, and she _yip yipped _Ivy into flight. They flew for hours, and Swift almost gave up and went home, but first, she decided, she would check their childhood meeting point. It was a treacherous path up to the highest mountain top, the winds were strong on the already sharp rocks. Air-benders rarely travelled this high, it was colder and more dangerous, and pretty unnecessary in any case, the ground was fairly steep and unstable, there was very little to do with the space up here.

Unless you were a pair of twins who loved adventure.

They'd found it when they were only ten, they were cocky about their new gliders and wanted to see how high they could fly them. The two were competitive, and continuously challenging each other to more extreme lengths, eventually it had come to this.

When they had both landed on solid ground, they gasped at the sights, it was higher than they'd ever been, and the whole world seemed to stretch before them. They started to explore, every nook and cranny, and eventually came across a small rock, usually covered with other pebbles and crab grass, that had the air-bending emblem on it, and in the middle, a small hole.

It was this she searched for now, in the dark storm, and when she eventually found it, she shot her air-bending through the gap and it spun, moving a seemingly solid rock away from the mountain face to reveal a cave. She yelled for her twin in the dark cave, but couldn't hear anything over the pelting rain and howling wind. Ushering Ivy in, she shut the door to the elements, and shouted for her brother. It was silent.

He wasn't here. He wasn't anywhere. _Why? _She understood his new found fears, but it didn't excuse him abandoning her. She at least deserved a face to face explanation! She clenched her fist, ready to punch the wall, but then caught sight of her sapphire tattoo on her skin, reminding her who she was.

Ivy had already settled down, obviously assuming that there was no way Swift would take her back into that storm. And nor would she. Her best friend deserved better than to have her life endangered just because her brother had done something ridiculous.

Swift fell lithely into a meditation position next to her furry two tonne friend. She took a deep breath, her slim body rising and falling with each breath. She began to sense a familiar feeling. She used to assume that all twins had her and Aang's connection, but she began to realise, with the small amount of other pairs she had met, that it wasn't as common as they'd thought. Sometimes the two would slip into the other's consciousness, in times of great distress. Living with the monks, it didn't happen very often, but it when it did, it was almost like they were in the other's mind. In hindsight, it might well be because of his Avatarly status, not that they'd had a chance to discuss that possibility, it was that stupid title that had caused all this to happen.

The feeling was getting stronger and stronger- something must _really _be bothering her brother. She didn't know what was happening, but suddenly, she felt cold all over, freezing, in fact. She began to struggle to breath, she knew her body was taking in oxygen, but it wasn't helping. She felt no relief, no matter how she tried, gulping in air she grasped Ivy's fur in fear. After what seemed like hours, but must have only been seconds, she felt a dreadful slackening, like she was holding a rope tautly stretched that now fell loose. It was in this dreadfully empty moment that her eyes shot open, a mirror of blue shining from them and a circlet of power surrounding her and her friend.


	2. A Cloaked Figure

Sokka, Katara and Aang had been travelling through the Earth Kingdom for a while now, and they had stopped off at a fortune tellers village for supplies, though the lure of being told their future had admittedly steered them in that direction more than bread. Sokka, forever the cynic, hadn't shown much interest, but Aang had wanted to know what the future held for him. After all, it couldn't be worse than his past.

Aunt Wu had given him a prediction full of conflict and strife, as he'd expected. Though the older woman had brought up the possibility of love, he felt like it was just to placate his own wishes in light of his disappointment. Pursuing happiness seemed to be as useful chasing a rainbow for the young Avatar, he internally sighed, thinking of the water-bender he had become so close with.

The group had heard Aunt Wu give the village the annual predictions as she stood in the market square, and his ears pricked at one of them- "gonna to be a great year for twins." His heart clenched, seeing two little boys high five each other at the announcement.

Those boys were together, but him and Swift... Well, he had abandoned everybody, his friends, his nation, and his twin sister. She was dead now, and it was because of him, he wasn't there to protect anybody. Aang had never let slip this detail to his friends, it was an agony he kept close to his heart. The young man could never admit to his friends that not only had he allowed his people to suffer, he was also responsible for his own sister's death. She would never grow old, like he would, she would never fall in love, like he had, she would never even see the sun again, like the one he could see now.

A week had passed before they left the odd village. The people had had such confidence in Aunt Wu's predictions that they'd almost been destroyed by a volcano. It was only by their chance visit to the volcano top that they saw it ready to erupt and in the end saved them from certain destruction. Katara and Sokka had left in high spirits, but Aang only felt content. Saving others helped fill the void, but never really made up for what happened to his people. Him and Katara were practising water-bending now at the river. The girl was such a gentle spirit, and her love helped him get through a lot. Even if she didn't feel the same as him just yet, her friendship was something that he valued above all else.

Sokka left them to it, grumbling something about getting more meat. He didn't quite like the way Aang looked at Katara, but conceded that he was a good guy, and she could do worse than the Avatar. He liked to leave them alone when he could- like he wanted to witness all that sappy eyed nonsense.

He took a stroll through the forest, it was autumn, and the leaves fell in a thousand shades of reds, oranges and golds. In the back of his mind, Sokka felt an odd sensation of being watched, it unnerved him. He continued onwards though, ignoring his ominous forebodings; "self inflicted" suffering, that's what Aunt Wu had said. He had to stop making life more aggravating for himself.

He stooped low to pick some mushrooms, and in the corner of his eye he glimpsed a dark figure. As soon as he looked up, it was gone. He was sure he kept seeing it every time his focus shifted, and soon he started to feel very paranoid. He heard an almost imperceptible rustling of the leaves, and wondered at that. What could make so little noise on a forest floor smothered in crackling leaves and snapping twigs?

The noise got louder, and he stilled. While reaching for his boomerang it came closer and closer, and he wasn't sure if he was about to come face to face with a ghost or dinner. It was here. Gliding past the tree he was stood behind. He launched out, aiming to strike what ever it was with a knock over the head.

There was a distinctly feminine gasp, and he somehow missed the close range target and went stumbling into another tree. He only caught a glimpse before slamming his head and knocking himself unconscious, but later he swore to Katara and Aang that he saw a woman. She wore a deep brown cloak, and had dark brunette hair that framed her sweet face with a full fringe before falling below her chest. Her features were pretty with youth, though he couldn't make out her eyes. He didn't see the green or blue, or even amber that he was used to. They seemed familiar, but with such a fleeting glance, he couldn't make sense of them. Much like he couldn't explain how she seemed to have flitted from sight before he had even lost consciousness.

A few weeks later, the gang had found themselves in a rebel fire nation camp. Aang was being taught by a master. They were in enemy territory, though, and Sokka was on edge. He was constantly patrolling on look out for fire nation soldiers. He ended up wandering pretty far from the camp one day, and had to admit to himself that it might not just be the fire nation outwith the camp that unnerved him. Seeing a fire-bender train Aang was a wonderful but weird concept for him, and after seeing what the nation had done to his tribe, he hardly felt safe buddying it up just yet.

Sokka ended up climbing a tree, he was deep in the wood and wanted a place out of the normal line of sight. The young man sat for a while, just thinking, whistling tunes back and forth between birds. He'd been there almost half an hour when he noticed something, or rather, someone.

A familiar coloured cloak swept through the trees. The figure seemed to be searching for something, though it was often distracted. It stopped once just to listen, smiling up at the trees around her, he wondered what was catching her attention, and then realised that the birds were still repeating his tune back at him, waiting for a new one. Another time she stopped for a young moose lion, it hadn't even noticed her. Sokka's mouth watered, and he envied her stealth, as cute as it was, it would make for a good dinner, she was lucky.

Instead of killing it though, despite having weapon at hand (because what she held it couldn't be a walking stick, she was much too agile to be in need of that) she merely knelt down beside it. When it noticed her, it froze for a moment, before she whispered something and began _stroking _it! A moose lion! The small creature seemed to purr beneath her touch, and Sokka saw something weird and blue on her hand peeking out of the long sleeves she wore, it must be moose lion nip, it was the only explanation for it's behaviour.

She looked up suddenly, and Sokka soon realised why, loud crunching and deep voices indicated company. They came out of nowhere, two men, gruff earth nation citizens. Sokka sighed in relief when he saw they weren't fire nation soldiers, but soon realised there was more to fear than capture for this young woman.

Upon noticing her, they began talking to her crudely, commenting on her solitude and her "pretty face." She shyed away, turning to go, but one of the men grabbed her wrist roughly, the other coming up from the left side, a sinister smile upon his face.

Sokka didn't know the girl, and though he was aware that she could be an enemy, an assassin for Aang even, it didn't matter at that moment, more primal defensive senses kicked in. He was about to launch himself from the tree that very moment but for her next actions. She twisted in the first man's grip as if her bones weren't a hindrance and kicked the man in the back, sending him an impossible distance ahead. The second came upon her in a heartbeat, fist raised and body imposing. She dodged the strike easily, and again and again he tried and failed to make contact with her face. The young woman eventually swung her small body at an opening, as the large man stepped forward she swept her foot under his leg with infeasible strength and she struck at his chest, somehow making it so he knocked himself out as he hit the floor. Sokka had to tell himself that it was his own body mass that did it, because there was no way such a small person could have used that much strength with no bending to help out.

As the two bulky men lay either unconscious or immobile on the floor, she looked around alertly, looking at them almost guiltily, twisting her hair in her hands nervously before leaving fast pace out of the vicinity. Sokka was too shocked to moved. That, he told himself, and not too scared.


	3. Searching

Swift had been trying to locate her brother for a few months now, ever since she'd woken up in the cave with Ivy, confused and out of sorts.

It was a surreal experience, she awoke feeling weak, without really knowing why. It couldn't have been more than a few hours since she'd had dinner, but she felt famished. She got to her feet unsteadily and stumbled to the cave entrance, suddenly remembering why she was there. Aang. That silly boy had gone and left her to the monks. Wearily, she blasted air into an identical talisman to the one outside and the door swung open.

The morning was beautiful, there was a brisk chill, but the sky was cloudless and the sun was rising. It must have been hours, not minutes that she was out cold. There was no sign of the storm that had overcome the place the night before. She felt optimistic with natures' change of heart, and hoped that perhaps her brother had returned home in the end. She didn't want him to get there without her presence, so she beckoned Ivy to come as she bent her glider into form. She felt stiff from her rest and wanted to move her body- feel the wind in her face.

For a moment, she forgot about her twin as she soared through the air. Today was the day she received her last tattoo, the one that ran from her upper spine to her forehead. It was going to hurt. She knew that every monk went through it, and was trained not to feel petty pain, or attachment to petty things, but she kind of liked her hair, and her fringe, she knew it would need to be shaved for the process, and that she'd never be allowed the front section of her hair to grow out again. She looked at the ones that ran along her arms and to her hands and sighed wistfully; they were beautiful, and she would have them on her head if that was what was expected of her.

Ivy flew gracefully by her side, though she too seemed to be a little more groggy than unusual, but then, Swift had awoken her to fly for hours in the dead of night, so she was probably to blame for that. As she approached the temple, she expected to hear the usual sounds of activity, the younger children playing air ball, the older children training, lemurs chattering, bison roaring or the morning mantra being chanted. Oddly, all she could distinguish was bird song in the quiet morning time.

She was quizzical as she landed, there was nobody there. The whole place was deserted. She bounded up the steep rock face until she reached the main temple, there was no-one to be seen. Swift had assumed it must have been a mass meditation day, but it wasn't silence, it was absence. Something dark red caught her eye, a helmet. It lay on the ground, rusting and dull. It had a fire nation insignia on it, but she didn't understand, when had any fire nation soldiers been _here? _ She entered the temple, and saw more, and more than that, she saw _bodies. _They were skeletons, really, the all looked incredibly old, worn by the elements, but.. she didn't understand.

She felt dizzy with shock, and sick to her stomach. Why were corpses desecrating the temple? Why had they been put there? She shouted out for anyone that could hear, but received no response. She left the room to catch her breath, before composing herself. For some reason there were bodies here, perhaps they had been sent from another place for burial at the temple. Yes. That made sense. They were nomads who wanted their bodies to be returned. No, they were too decomposed, somebody wanted them _reburied_. It was clear that everybody was gone, she was the only one here, and she couldn't allow them to continue there unattended, and it was so, with great inner strength, she set about digging burial graves. When everybody returned, perhaps her work would grant her leniency for not attending whatever trip was ongoing.

After two hours, she'd wished she was an earth bender. Although Ivy helped with her claws, the work was exhausting. She returned to wrap and place the bodies side by side in the earth, and once the temple was empty, she covered it back up again. It was almost nightfall by the time her work was done, she had cried many tears over the lost souls and the confusing situation she had found herself in. She had expected people to start returning home soon from wherever they had been, day trips were always concluded in time for dinner.

Perhaps she knew in the pit of her stomach that she was grasping at straws, but she couldn't help but try and make sense of the situation. She soon gave in and decided to wait in the chambers of the kindest monk, Gyastso. He would forgive her for running away to find Aang, he always doted upon the two of them. As she approached his tent, she saw it seemed worn and tattered, a sense of foreboding came across her, and when she opened the tent, she could only stand the sight for a moment before throwing up into the nearby bush.

He was dead. His tell tale talisman around his skeletal neck. All the others, they were monks of this place. She'd known it to be true in her heart of hearts, but had refused to admit it until now. Her mind reeled with confusion and horror. _How_? They all seemed like such old bodies. She knew the fire nation helmet must have something to do with it, but _why_? How long had she been gone that so much could have changed? How could everybody she had even known disappeared?

She ran, still feeling queasy, to the calender. It was a huge stone contraption, which a dial fell through the two gaps each year, after heating and expanding in the summer then freezing and contracting in the winter. Her jaw dropped open, it had fallen almost to the bottom of the dates inscribed, it said that almost one hundred summers had passed!

Since that day, Swift's journey had taken place quickly and quietly. She had decided to hide her nationality from the world as she travelled to the earth kingdom, a sense of caution had overcome the young lady. She chose the earth kingdom in the hopes of avoiding an encounter with any fire nation citizens- despite the many old friendships she had built once upon a time.

She knew her brother was alive, he couldn't be otherwise, he must have been the reason she could have survived in a frozen state for so long. As she made her way through villages, she noticed that many had fire nation soldiers occupying them. She witnessed loud brawls between citizens and soldiers, and heard whispers of hope with on the topic of the Avatar on everybody's lips by the time the first few weeks of her journey were through.

A few times, she thought that she had almost found him, only to be attacked, either by the soldiers, drunk locals, even a water tribe boy once attacked her with a boomerang. It seemed that every other nation was determined to be her enemy. By the time she thought she could return without fear of her various assailants being in pursuit, the whispers of the Avatar whispered him away.

This cycle continued until one day, when Swift heard something that made her momentarily forget her mission, she heard people mention the "sky folk" that lived in the nearby mountains, and the draw to her people was too strong to ignore.


	4. An Orange Glider

Aang felt as if a weight had been lifted off of his chest, a redemption of sorts. He had successfully stood up to the fire nation and defended an air-bender temple against their attacks. Even if it wasn't in defence of actual air-benders, he felt like he was filling part of the void left by guilt and anguish. The refugees that had made a home here could go on in peace, and his people's legacy could continue on, as long as there were people living and loving within the walls showered in his ancestor's history. The battle for the temple was over. Sokka had done most of the work, to be honest, his inventions had been what had given them a fighting chance, but the fact that Aang was there, that he had fought bravely- not ran away, that was what counted. That's what he'd always wished he'd done for his people. Katara and Sokka seemed to think that he thought he could have saved them. He knew that probably wasn't true, but the fact that he'd left them to fight alone, that he'd left them to their fate without help that could have been offered, it tore at him. They had defended themselves, and he had run. They were gone, and he was still alive, that more than anything kept him up at night.

He was brought out of his reverie by Sokka's triumphant declaration, "As long as we've got the skies, we'll have the fire nation on the run!"

With that, many of the refugees grabbed hold of their gliders and took to the sky. Sokka watched in awe, they all had an amazing spirit within them, even if it wasn't quite the air-bending one. He wasn't sure what Aang had meant by that, though, as his eyes roamed the depths above him. An orange glider caught his eye. Most were blue, but somebody had obviously wanted theirs to be more like Aang's.

At that moment he _really _couldn't comprehend what the young monk had been talking about- the glider soared and spun, effortlessly, like a leaf dancing in the wind. Everybody was still cheering, clapping Aang and himself on the back, hugging and high fiving each other in relief and pride. Yet he couldn't stop watching the orange glider. As it came closer, he could make out long dark hair twisting down her left side that signified the rider as a woman. She must have found spare clothes somewhere around here, because she seemed to be sporting air-bending attire. He wasn't sure how; the only ones he had seen around were moth bitten and tattered, yet hers looked fairly new. A buttercup coloured breast band covered her chest, and an orange sash was pinned up on one shoulder, a smaller dark brown one followed through the middle, leading from her waist band that pulled in the robe before dropping to her mid thigh. The sash was hooked together by a golden circlet, gold that matched what he could now see ran through her braided hair. She wore more yellow in the form of her leggings that came down just below her knees, and as she landed softly, he saw others look at her in confusion, and he realised something.

They didn't know her.

But he did.

Now he wasn't focused on her garb, her features were clear to him, her pretty face and, grey, yes, definitely grey eye glinted in the evening sun. They were sharp eyes, focused on Aang, and she walked swiftly in his direction. Now she wasn't wearing the cloak, he could see the tattoos that covered her arms and ran down her long legs to her bare feet. They were a dark, sapphire blue, and seemed slimmer than Aangs, not as bold, but more detailed, with varying shades swirling within if you looked close enough. Not many people had noticed the girl yet, she was quiet. Although it had felt much longer to Sokka, it had been less than a minute and people were still high on exhilaration, celebrating their victory.

She looked riled, and Sokka began to wonder if his friend was in danger after all, but before he could even call out, the girl had broken through the crowd that surrounded Aang and had come face to face with him. He was still laughing, and looked toward the newest guest with the lingering amusement still upon his lips. Before he could react to her, however, a sharp slap echoed through the temple. Everybody seemed to go silent as all eyes shifted to the two teenagers.

Katara looked furious, and was about to push the girl away, when Aang held up a hand to her silently, his eyes still on the young woman as she began to speak in a quiet, dangerous voice.

"How _dare _you?"

"S-Swift?"

"I have been on a stupid search mission for _months _now! A _note_? That's all I get, is it?" The girl's pace picked up, unshed tears threatening at her eyes "I wake up alone in a cave and go back to find my home barren! _Y__ou _seemed to have disappeared into the ether. It was traumatising for Yangchen's sake, what were you thinking?!"

Katara now looked irritatedly at Aang, she'd known the young man's attentions had been on her since the day they'd met, but had he been playing the field? Had this girl turned his eye, and resulted in a one night stand? And apparently turned her into a complete psychopath, dressing as an air nomad and searching the world for him.

The young woman broke down crying, and Aang went in to hold her, his chin resting on her head. He closed his eyes tightly as he took in a shaking breath. When his arms enfolded her, she yelled something incoherent as she beat his chest with her fists, before giving in again in exhaustion, slumping there, just crying.

When Aang opened his eyes again, they had found their own tears. Everything was silent for a minute before Katara asked the question on everybody's lips. Aang looked up at her, his eyes an abyss of shell shock, before they focused on his friend and the young monk cracked a wondrous smile. "Um, th-this is my twin s-sister."


	5. A Burden Shared

Most of the refugees had left the gang alone, seeing the intimate nature of this situation and feeling awkward to witness it. Even Katara and Sokka, shocked and confused as they were, took a few steps back and refrained from asking all the questions that were trying to pry themselves from their lips.

The two air nomads sat embracing without saying a word for an indeterminable time- talk about air-bender patience, everybody else's minds were abuzz with queries, but the pair did not say a word until the young woman brought herself upright, still on the ground, to face him. She pulled an arm across her nose, wiping away snot and tears. Aang drew his brows together in concern.

"Swift, what happened to you?"

She let out a shaky laugh, "Says you! Mister high o' mighty Avatar-I'm-gonna-run-away,-be-back-in-a-hundred-ye ars."

He groaned, head lolling back to face the sky, his hands to his face.

"I ___know_! I panicked! Obviously I didn't anticipate the whole iceberg thing, or the war thing! But I shouldn't have gone and left you, little sister."

That last phrase got a rise out of her, ___"Little _sister? B___y_ ___what, _an hour-" before she realised what he was doing and flicked him on the forehead. She raised an eyebrow in curiosity, "What's this about an iceberg?"

"That's how the whole thing happened, Appa went down in the storm, and we ended up in the sea. Next thing I know, I'm waking up in an iceberg"

"Well, just as well I'd found cover in The Cave before you did so, or else I'd have been out on that mountain top exposed for goodness knows how long! Wait- Appa?"

Aang smiled, yelling his name, and the great beast came along then, and soon Swift was soaked in bison spit as he licked her happily. She laughed good naturedly though, familiar faces were incredibly rare for the young lady.

Her brother's smile dimmed as he watched the pair. "I'm so sorry about Ivy, Swift. I know how much you loved each other. It's all my fau-"

She stopped him with a hand on his shoulder and smiled silently. With that she turned and took an air-bending sprint to the mountain edge, with her fingers to her lips, she drew in a ridiculously loud whistle and leapt off the side.

Katara and Sokka both gasped in concern, she'd left her glider behind and it was a long drop down the mountain, though Aang watched with a hopeful expression dawning upon his face. Sure enough, a bison only a little smaller than Appa roared as it soared into sight, Swift sitting on it's neck and peeking above the top of it's head.

"IVY!" Aang ran to her, smothering her nose with kisses and patting her fur.

Swift looked affectionately at the two, leaning on Appa, stroking him behind the ear. "Never leave your bison behind."

Sokka seemed comfortable enough to come ambling forward now, and his held up a hand, "Woah woah woah wait. Aang, why did you never mention that you had a sister?"

Aang smiled, "We have a lot to talk ab-"

But Swift cut in, gasping, "___You! _You tried to hit me with your boomerang!"

* * *

It was nightfall, and the four teenagers sat around a warm fire, talking with great animation and excitement, though occasionally dropping into graver tones when certain topics arose. The twins would sometimes speak so quickly that Sokka and Katara would just look at each other, equally as baffled to the topic of conversation.

Sokka had been given a pretty bad reprimand by the young female air-bender. He was often yelled at by his own sister for various reasons, and chided by Aang after some moral slip or another, but he was a stubborn guy, and rarely relented. Swift had a way, however, of making him want to crawl into a hole with shame. She had simply looked at him, with a hurt wondering, and asked him why he would go to harm another person so willingly, so blindly. She would look at her feet and whisper almost to herself, as if guilty in his stead. By the end of the lecture, the young water tribe warrior had somehow been made to feel like his whole tribe was shamed by his actions; something that seemed so reasonable at the time.

Katara watched with awe, looking to Aang, "She's good."

The monk's only response was to nod solemnly, looking to their friend with empathy written all over his face.

They now sat drinking tea that the refugees had given them as a parting gift, exchanging stories in-between sips. They were on their way to the northern water tribe, and it was getting steadily colder as they flew closer to their destination, the warm drinks were becoming very welcome additions to their nightly routine.

Katara yawned, stretching her arms and announcing that she was going to hit the hay. She sauntered into the darkness toward her tent, and Aang totally failed at nonchalance as he watched her go, soon fabricating his own fatigue and leaving Sokka and Swift alone.

It was silent for a few moments before Sokka began to snicker. It was contagious, and Swift let out her own laughter, he thought he'd heard the word "dork" muttered under her breath. Sokka didn't know how to treat the girl, she was a new comer, but it felt like she'd always been with them, despite only spending a few days in their midst. He wanted to treat her like a close friend, but he hardly knew anything about the girl. During his ponderings, he'd noticed that she'd sobered from their spat of good humour, and was now staring into the scarlet embers, her face a cocktail of emotions.

"What's wrong?" Sokka asked tentatively; he'd rarely spoken directly to the girl, and even less so without the other two around- Aang especially.

The girl took a few moments to answer, as if her brain postponed the processing of the words. When she did, she looked to him, her eyes seeming to stare past him, "It's nothing, just a memory."

It was quiet again, the only sound the butterfly-crickets chirping as they flew throughout the sleeping trees.

"Maybe," Sokka whispered again after what seemed like forever, "maybe if it hurts, then you should try and think of happier things."

She didn't acknowledge hearing a word, her eyes still focused on their dying camp fire.

"Or at least tell me what's on your mind. You know, a burden shared..."

He was sure she was going to ignore him again, but then she lifted her eyes to him, actually seeing him this time. She seemed to be assessing him, though he felt safe while she did so, not squirmy or uncomfortable as he would under his father's glare or when he noticed women sizing him up in villages. No, she seemed to be looking inside him, judging his worthiness on his merit and character. And he didn't feel like need to shield himself from it. Eventually she spoke.

"... I left someone back in last century, someone very special to me."

He frowned, feeling sorry for the girl. But this wasn't news to him, Aang and her had left everyone they knew back at the temples, friends, monks, lemurs. "It must be hard... Knowing what happened to your people."

She smiled sadly, "He wasn't my people. He was the ___enemy._" she said the last word with a bite of bitterness.

Sokka sucked in a quick breath.

"We met through Aang, he didn't know, but we fell for each other pretty hard." She laughed into the night, "He used to swear that he would come and take me away from the temple, that he could be a nomad too and we'd travel the world together."

He felt like his insides were twisting with her pain, "He wasn't the enemy, you know that right? It wasn't his fault what his nation did."

She turned to him, almost despairingly, "I know how wars work, Sokka, he was probably conscripted to fight, he was the right age. For all I know he was involved in the air temple raids. Everything he said, everything he promised, it would have meant nothing by the time they began killing my people." Her voice broke more as her pitch increased, and she seemed to rush to have the poison words out of her mouth.

At a loss of what to say, Sokka simply whispered "What was his name?"

She smiled that lonely smile again, "Kuzon."

* * *

The next morning it was decided that the four would split between the two bison, to lighten the load off of Appa and speed up their journey. Katara mumbled something about most of her stuff already being on Appa's saddle, though when she got up there, she seemed to throw a great deal more stuff down to Sokka than was left by the end. Sokka rolled his eyes at the smitten pair, allowing them their hours of alone time. It did mean that he was on Ivy, though, and he felt butterfly-crickets in his stomach without really knowing why. He put it down to the nerves of flying with a new bison.

Swift waved the others on ahead, not wanting to admit to her less than amazing sense of direction. She looked back to Sokka, clambering up Ivy's tail and bringing with him the last of his stuff. She herself carried only a cotton tote bag that hung over her shoulder, and wondered at how one person could have so many possessions. She smiled reassuringly at the young man, his eyes were often cast at the floor, and she felt sorry for him for having to be stuck with her and away from his friends. As she motioned for Ivy to go, she lay her head to rest on hers, her thoughts wandering like the clouds that surrounded them.

Sokka watched the girl whenever he didn't think she was paying attention. She was so different from other girls he'd met. He'd briefly had a thing for a strong girl in Kyoshi, but in comparison, Swift was so mellow, despite her extensive fighting abilities, she'd never once attempted to show them off or embarrass him. Being a non-bender wasn't always easy in a group with the Avatar. It was easy to dismiss any usefulness of his presence, but Swift rarely used her bending, she did things by hand almost as much as Sokka did, down to climbing trees and drying her hair. She said she liked the challenge of climbing, that it made her success sweeter, she would excuse her wet hair as an excuse to wander in the sun. In short, she just seemed to take every day as a pleasure in little ways, and it was something that Sokka drank in with admiration. Of course, this meant that when she did use her air-bending to fly, he was enraptured by her skill and grace, following her every move as she swept the skies like she belonged there.

They'd been flying for most of the day, but as Sokka awoke from a nap he noticed Appa in the distance ahead, still going strong. Katara and Aang were so excited at the prospect of a water-bending teacher that they were forgetting that there were people without such prospects doing the same journey stretches.

Ahead, he noticed Swift's drooping form, it was past dusk and they'd been awake since well before dawn. He made his way to Ivy's neck and gently tugged the reigns out of her hands, her eyelids were heavy and she relinquished them with a incoherent mumble but without a struggle. He knew the girl was far too tired to move far, so he simply shifted her backward slightly as he took the driver's seat. She was dropping completely out of consciousness when he looked backwards, and he was content in the knowledge that she could rest now. Although she never complained, it had been a long day and she'd never once let Sokka take the ropes.

He stiffened slightly when he felt something on his back, but realised soon that it was only her sleeping head. A few moments later, he felt her sliding to the left, and realised the danger of her falling off of Ivy when she wasn't in the saddle. He took her arms and secured them around his waist. He was reassured, but also somewhat flustered at feeling her hugging him tightly in her sleep, as if he were an overgrown teddy bear. His cheeks flushed red and he scolded himself, this was Aang's sister, and he was ___not_ falling for her.


	6. Dreams and Battle Plans

_ She lay with him, breathing in the scent of spices and woodland. He whispered to her, her arms enfolded around his stomach, as he spun images of their future together in the twilight air._

_ She giggled as he kissed a sensitive part of her ear. His skin felt like warm silk on hers, and she revelled in it, and in that feeling of security. Feeling her shiver, he heated his hands, rubbing her goose-bumped arms and breathing hot air under the blanket._

_ She smiled, he was always just playing with his fire bending. But... He wasn't from the fire nation, he was from somewhere colder... Wasn't he? Suddenly the smell of seal jerky filled the air. She turned her head to face him; Kuzon was in his own clothes, but for some reason they varied between sapphire and sky blue shades. The top knot that was there but a moment ago fell and was replaced by a wolf tail. He sat up and asked her what was wrong but she scurried backwards. Before she had moved but a few feet, the previously beautiful evening clouded over with angry clouds, and the cliff side they'd been on fell out from beneath her. The curglaff from hitting the ice cold water took her breath away. It became dark and cold under the endless chasm of water._

Swift woke with a start, and for a lovely moment she thought she was back in the fire nation, but she soon realised that she was hooked around Sokka- in the middle of the night. They were still flying on Ivy's neck, and that was the only thing that stopped her starting from the intimate embrace.

Sokka seemed to sense her shift in posture, because he looked back to her, smiling warily, "Oh, hey, it's about three in the morning, Katara says we're almost there- she didn't want to stop and camp somewhere this cold without a tribe. The drop in temperature can get pretty dangerous you know."

His brow furrowed as he studied her face, and she realised with a dull acknowledgement that her cheeks were damp with tears. She still felt like she was dancing between reality and dreams, and took a moment to realise that their faces were only inches from one another. With a small jolt shock she realised how very strikingly blue his eyes were. They contrasted sharply with his darker skin, his face grew the ebony black stubble of a goatee but otherwise was smooth and defined.

She shook herself, "Oh, that's fine. How far away does she think we are?"

He shrugged, "Nobody's ever really sure, th-" While they'd been speaking, Ivy had drifted lower and closer to the water, and without warning, ice stakes flew up in all directions, trapping them. A yelp from Katara in the black distance confirmed the same thing had happen to them.

Out of the darkness they came in their canoes, with their tell tale blue attire and their benders poised for a fight.

They had arrived at the Northern Water tribe.

* * *

They enjoyed a wonderful apricity as Sokka and Swift took a stroll around the vast crystal city by the river side. It had been several days since they'd arrived, and in that time Katara had almost single handedly challenged the culture of these people by persuading a master to teach her combat skills with her bending, something that was traditionally reserved for the men. So it was now that her and Aang trained while she and Sokka were stuck twiddling their thumbs.

The canal they were walking past was busy with boats and fishermen. The water was crystal clear, it was reflecting the sun and glittering as if filled with diamonds. She looked to Sokka, hoping to share her awe, but his eyes were on a beautiful young woman. Her hair was long and white as snow, unlike everybody else's deep black and her face was stunning, with a sweet smile dancing upon her features. Sokka's eyes were filled with awe of a different kind, and Swift was surprised when this knowledge twisted the wrong way in her stomach. Why should she care what Sokka did or who he liked?

They met Yue that same night for a celebration of her nineteenth name day. She had spoken with them both for a while, but later on in the night, she noticed her Sokka aside and to have a private conversation. She could imagine what it was about; she was the Princess of the Northern Tribe, and he was the son of Hakoda, the chief of the South. It wasn't hard to put two and two together, even though she found she didn't want to. Through her discrete eye on the pair, she noticed Yue gesture to her, and she could imagine Sokka's assurances that he was indeed single. She sighed and left, wanting to be out of spying distance. Sokka deserved a woman like that, strong, beautiful, important and generous.

* * *

Sokka left the conversation feeling dazed. It was like Yue knew him better than he knew himself. It unnerved but immensely interested him, she was a pretty unique woman to say the least, and her proposal had left him with a lot to think about.

First, though, he had to find Swift. He rounded the corner and immediately saw several sets of eyes that pointed him in her direction. There were pleanty of people who were curious about her, and for good reason, but Sokka's hunter instincts set in, and he seemed to seperate the bunnydeer from the mooselions. There were at least seven of the latter stalking their prey. He felt rankled by their audacity, no doubt seeing her as some sort of prize to be won. The Avatar's twin deserved more than their slimy appraisals. He saw with chagrin that one was about to pounce.

* * *

Swift saw the young man approach, he had a sweet smile, and she greeted him. He asked about her upbringing and the monks, and told her much about the Northern Tribe, including some places to visit and explore. She felt easy with him, his obvious inclination toward his own gender made her forget about the tension of worry, and she relaxed into a conversation with him. After a bought of laughter, she turned to see Sokka. He looked furious about something, and turned and left before she could inquire about it. Later on his attitude had improved enough that she convinced herself that she had simply imagined it.

Sokka spent the next day with Yue, and the day after, and the day after that, and so on it went. The two became almost inseparable, leaving her with the choice of feeling somewhat of a spare tool or spending her days exploring. She liked Yue, very much so. The two young women talked at length on many topics, and found they shared a lot of the same core beliefs, but being with her _and _ Sokka made her uncomfortable all over for reasons she was coming to understand.

Swift woke early one morning, and though the two water benders had already gone to practice, and Sokka was only just about to sneak out of the door.

"Where are you off to?" Swift murmured, sitting, stretching and yawning.

Oddly, the young man looked a bit uneasy. "I was just going to see Yue, she said that there's this really nice oasis here that she wants to show me."

"Oh," Swift sat a little straighter, curious.

"Uh, this is sort of a thing just for me and her."

Swift furrowed her brows. "I-"

"Like, alone." he sighed, exasperatedly.

"Look, I didn't want to come anyway!" Her tone turned defensive.

"Fine" Sokka looked a bit offended at bite in her tone.

He turned and left without another word, and she sighed, falling back on her bed. She had had no intention of asking to come with them, and resented that he'd tried to sneak away to avoid the apparently dreadful possibility.

She found that she couldn't get back to sleep. The day had barely begun and yet had already disturbed her aura. After finishing the chores that needed to be done, and making breakfast, Swift made her way to a place she'd found in the last few weeks while giving Sokka his down time. Her mood had turned sullen. This was why the monks taught not to attach yourself to anything; people let you down, they will not be there forever- nothing will. If you ask for nought, you shall receive it in abundance. Her connection to Aang was inevitable, theirs was an almost physical manifestation of attachment, but she had succeeded in keeping her distance from others. Perhaps the only other time she had slipped was with Kuzon, but even then, although she loved him, she never "missed" him. She allowed her teachings to prevent that pain, despite her feelings. Sokka had a knack for getting into her head, though, and despite a lifetime of learning, she felt her emotions stubbornly turning against her.

As Swift approached the ice cave, she noticed a strange black snow falling, but too far away from the homes of the city to inquire about this quirk, she simply pushed on to be under the cover and out of the dirty weather. Going deeper and deeper into the cave, the young monk eventually reached the spacious cavern.

Inside was beautiful, the ice was like the canal diamond effect tenfold. The sun shone in though gaps in the cave's ceiling and reflected off of everything, the whole room sparkled with a vibrancy. She could see her breath in the air- there was a very dry cold inside, and she was glad for her thick cloak. She thought of the puffy warm parkas everybody here wore with envy. Especially Sokka's, designed for the even colder conditions of the south pole. She'd been meaning to show that boy this place, but he'd been so engaged lately that she hadn't yet had the chance.

She found it an excellent place to meditate- until the turtle seals came barking in, (though she liked the challenge.) They were sweet animals, and their company warmed her. She had always felt a strong connection with animals, and if there was one thing she enjoyed about this whole adventure, it was the vast array of species she'd come across en-route. She had spent quite a lot of time here with this particular harem, and they'd begun to trust her more and more, approaching her and even welcoming her when she visited.

The sun was setting by the time she was shaken out of her meditative state by their arrival. Seeing her there, some dove back in, and she feared for a moment that they'd retracted their former friendship, but after a few moments they came back with something astonishing; their young. The pups flocked toward her, nosing and licking her. And immediately after the mothers had accepted her, and with such trust, she couldn't help but stay there longer, despite the setting sun.

* * *

The second Sokka saw the familiar soot, he knew what it meant. A fire nation siege. He alerted the nearest guard, and soon the entire city was up in arms. The fire nation were coming here, they were coming here and would take everything and everyone he loved if they weren't careful.

After making the necessary arrangements and discussing tactics and advice with several of the tribe's generals, Sokka sprinted his way back to the house; the meeting place for emergencies. He was late, and so he should have been the last person to arrive. Bursting into the house, he immediately called for Swift and the others, but only Aang and Katara were in the living room, pacing for his arrival.

Aang stopped, his eyes widened in anxiety and anger, "Why isn't she with you?"

Sokka mumbled something incoherently, though Aang made out the word "Yue".

"Wait," Aang practically yelled, "You abandoned my sister to chase fucking tail?!" Sokka almost cringed at the usually mellow monk's language, it was so rare. The young man was normally so laid back that he often forgot the raw power that the Avatar possessed, and it was rearing it's head now. Sokka was concerned for Swift, but he felt for a moment that she must be safer than he, where ever she was, though he didn't understand something;

"I thought she'd have been with you guys!"

"Why would you think that? Nobody else is allowed at any of the training sessions!"

Sokka was confused, he had always assumed that Swift had divided her time between himself and her brother, had she been unaccompanied every time she was wasn't with him and Yue?

A cold fear took hold of him as he thought more about it, concerns that Aang had had the last half hour to worry over were starting to voice in his own mind. Where _was _she? Surely she would have noticed the city preparing for siege. Why wasn't she back at home? What was so important? What had stopped her from returning to them? To him?

Aang looked furious. Despite his deep, steady breaths, his face reflected a storm. "We have an imminent battle ahead, and my sister is in potentially mortal danger because _you_ were thinking with your dick!"

He went to leave out the open front door but before he could, Sokka placed a hand on his shoulder, he needed to explain, "Aang, I-"

The Avatar turned like a lightening bolt and his fist connected with Sokka's face. He reeled back in pain, blood pouring from his nose. By the time he looked up again he was gone. Katara gave him a look of sympathy, pursing her lips.

"Sheesh, your nose looks bad, Sokka, but you kind of deserved it." She turned, "Get some ice on that!" She yelled as she ran out after her boyfriend.

Sokka searched the city for Swift for as long as he could, asking every person, looking in every ally, knocking on every door; that was, until the tribe's chief approached him and he was drawn once more into the battle plans. In the end it was decided that he was to be in charge of Yue's protection, her vulnerability and status as Princess taking precedence over having another soldier for the fight. Great. Though Sokka was happy to have the opportunity to keep an eye on his friend, this would hardly placate Aang's anger, and would make sneaking away to find Swift much harder.

**AN - Sorry if this chapter seemed a wee bit scattered, it kind of reflects how my mind is at the moment, but I wanted at least this half of what I've been writing to go up already instead of sitting sadly in my documents.**


	7. The Prince and The Moon

After the pups had fallen asleep, Swift had to acknowledge that it was well past the time to head home. Everyone would be asleep by the time she arrived, so she needn't have an awkward encounter with Sokka. She'd forgiven him for this morning, but that didn't mean she was eager to see him.

She stood and stretched, turning to get her cloak from where a few babies had made a nest of a bed. As she reached for it, she heard a splash behind her, coming from the hole in the centre of the cavern- the familiar sound of entrance into the room from the river vein. Yet oddly, she perceived a peculiar lack of the flopping seal turtle's belly on the ice floor.

She froze, hearing a deep intake of breath from a clearly human source. Within moments, the turtle seals began barking at the newcomer, quickly she heard them hitch the pitch of their calls a few octaves- in what she translated into '_danger'_.

Leaping twenty feet into the air just as a column of flame swept beneath her feet, Swift spun and turned to her assailant.

The young man was clearly from the fire nation, and from the description from her brother, he must be the Prince- his left eye was deeply scarred with burns. She saw these things in the light of the flame, but it was dark now. The visibility in the room was low, but unfortunately her orange and red robes stood out in the dim light. She herself mostly relied on her hearing to determine where the threat presented itself.

The two circled each other, the young man was in front of the only exit- not counting the freezing cold water. His attacks were bright and quick in the dark, but clumsy. His movements had her somewhat concerned that he might have hypothermia, swimming in that water for any period of time could be fatal. As a result of his no doubt frozen limbs, he was easy to dodge at first. She wasn't comfortable attacking people in the best of times, but here the concept likened itself to punching a child who was thumping it's little fists on her leg. On top of that, she had gathered, the fire nation Prince was the deeply abused son of the fire lord. She pitied him and what he felt he had to do to gain his father's and nation's acceptance. Nobody should ever feel so hopeless.

All this whirled in her mind as she dodged his attacks, but without her realising, he seemed to have warmed up -literally- and was now firing faster and with more accuracy. She felt like she no longer had a choice. With her staff in hand, she swung at him, her air bending sending him into the hard ice wall.

With a thump, his body hit. She gasped at a _cracking_ noise that resulted. Swift feared for his life, she couldn't stand the thought of being responsible for such a thing. The young monk approached without thinking, dropping her staff at his side to examine the wound, the dark lighting making it hard to see.

It was then she noticed that the crack actually came from a weak part of the frozen wall- it had been hollow and had now concaved. Before she could process this realisation, the staff swung out of nowhere and struck her in the head. Although she tried to suppress the pain, it was not long before the world went black.

* * *

Zuko stood panting for a few moments, trying to catch his breath. His head hurt like a bitch, but slowly it began to sink in. He'd captured the Avatar. It had been so easy! The monk had hardly put up a fight, and he'd just happened to turn up where he had come up for air. The Prince could hardly believe his luck, perhaps this was his righteous destiny after all.

He bent down with his rope to tie him up. He could only make out vague shapes in the dark, but was too anxious to have him secured to light a flame in the meantime, he needed both hands to deal with the knot. As he took hold of one of the monks' wrists, he noticed that it seemed slimmer than he remembered, but not to digress, he leant over the body to secure the second.

All of a sudden he felt very confused, the monks chest... Wasn't flat. He thought his throbbing head might have had him imagining things. Stopping what he was doing, the Prince lit a small flame in his hand next to the body. In the amber light, Zuko saw a young face that, while it did resemble the Avatar, definitely had even more feminine features; long dark brown eyelashes, full lips and silk braided hair.

His mind was a swirl of confusion- the young woman was definitely an air-bender; he had experienced that first hand. She was wearing air nomad clothes and sported their sapphire tattoos. She must have been around the same age as the teenager, but she just wasn't him! How quickly his good fortune had overturned to mock him.

An foreign sense of remorse swept over him when he saw her bleeding head. He'd attacked a simple girl. Yes, she was an air-bender, but she wasn't the avatar, she didn't deserve his onslaught.

A thought came over him then, perhaps he could justify this after all. The young lady could act as bait for the Avatar. The other monk was in the Northern Water Tribe, and he must have at least met her here, if she hadn't accompanied him on his journey here. Having the only other air-bender in existance in his possession could indeed be a bargaining chip not to be sniffed at. If he could get her back to the ship, then the Avatar would come to _him_.

After he'd decided on this course of action, he caught another glance at her wound and once again felt that guilty squeeze in his stomach. Ripping the bottom of his shirt, he boiled a small puddle of water in the floor and disinfected any germs that might be on it, before wrapping it like a bandage around her delicate head.

* * *

Yue was dead. He had failed so many people, and he could hardly breathe. Her body vanished from his arms and after a few moments of darkness, the new found spirit of the moon appeared in front of him. She looked awe-inspiring and ethereal, and glided toward him, a picture of ebbing silver essence.

Hahn came in then, "NO!" He screamed, seeing her in her spirit form, "Oh Tui and La!"

Her husband dropped to his knees at her feet, tears streaming down his face. He had been told that Zhao was on his way here, and had immediately come to their defence, but apparently not quickly enough.

Yue smiled sadly down at him, she bent over and brought her lips to his forehead. He looked up at her with a desperate expression, one begging her to stay with him. "Although we did not start out caring one another, my darling, I want you to know how much I grew to love you, you are the best man I have ever laid eyes on, you surprised me with your core nature; affectionate and strong, both physically and emotionally. It is because of this I know you will get through this. Please, take care of our daughter, and take care of yourself."

Hahn choked out a sob and nodded, looking into her eyes, "I love you, Yue."

She smiled again and brought her lips to his own this time, "I know."

Yue turned to Sokka, "Tell her how you feel." She brought a hand to his chest, where the necklace she had been teaching him to make lay in his under pocket. Her words resounded in his ear in a way that might have been eerie if they weren't so calming and sure. "Go to her, a young Prince will cause both of their deaths if you do not."

She faded away in the midnight air before he could pursue anything further questions. He looked up to the silver orb in the starlit sky and the moon shone brighter than it ever had before.

Sokka's blurry eyes turned to the Iroh. The older man had saved Aang's body and tried to defend Tui from Zhao. He should be on their side- shouldn't he? If anybody knew where Zuko may be, it would be him.

In acknowledgement of her last words, Iroh lowered his head in sadness.

Sokka struggled to keep his voice steady, laying heavy emphasis upon each word "Where is Swift?"

"My nephew's heart is confused and torn. He will try to win back his honour with whatever means necessary. I know he is not innocent, but there is good inside of him, please, when you find them, show him mercy." Sokka took a deep breath, but nodded silently. "Go south east, he will try and reach a ship from across one of the empty planes, but in this blizzard, I fear they will not get far."


	8. Of Life, Of Truth

He watched her as she came to. The blizzard had come on in full force, and the young prince had had to take refuge in a cave. The freezing conditions were too much for him, and if he was honest with himself, the young woman's bluing lips terrified him. He'd replaced her cloak around her shoulders to try and minimise the damage.

The menial task of setting up a small fire helped Zuko's mind stay calm. He was a mess of thoughts, he had never wounded a women before out with the training ground, and here he was struggling to keep a young innocent woman alive because of his brutal actions.

Zuko was confused, he'd never doubted the importance of his mission. Capture the Avatar, secure the fire nation's victory. But a niggling thought was seeping it's way into his mind. What had this girl done to him to deserve this? And then the traitorous thought was followed by an equally valid question. What had Avatar Aang ever done? What had the air-bending nation done to deserve their annihilation? All those women and children wiped from the planet so that, what? His great grandfather could have more power? Despite his nation's superiority, he had to wonder; was it worth it?

He looked at her, her expression was groggy, and for good reason. But he'd patched up her wound as best he could for now. As the world came into focus for her, she fixed her eyes on him. He waited for the look of anger, fear, or indignation, but none came. She simply sighed, her chest rising and falling slowly before picking herself up. He tensed at the movement, waiting for any tricks she may have up her sleeve. However, the young girl only straightened into a sitting position, cross legged, her tied wrists resting in her lap.

The women lifted her eyes to his, giving him a weak smile. "How's your head?"

Zuko was taken aback. It took a few moments to process her words... Searching her tone for sarcasm or irony, but found nothing but concern. She was thinking about _his _bump on the head as she sat tied up in ropes with a head wound and a possible case of hypothermia.

This girl was an enigma to him. She seemed to have held back as he first began attacking her, something he knew he was doing awfully as his frozen limbs came back into practice. She even approached to him in what seemed like worry instead of escaping after he struck the cave wall. Why did she do these things? Not fight? Not flee?

"My head is fine." He said stiffly. When he saw her slightly hurt expression, he followed up hesitantly, uncertain. "How's yours?"

She gave a small sigh of a laugh, "A little sore, but I think your rope are cutting off my blood supply."

He tensed up. She was trying to trick him. Trying to escape. Gaining his sympathy so that he would go easy on her. He stopped talking, he wouldn't allow her more room to manoeuvre his position. Her harmless eyes and soft smile meant nothing. She was dangerous.

After a few minutes, she cocked her head, observing him in a way that did not seem judgemental or uncomfortable, but curious, gentle. He did not like people looking at his scar, it made him feel pitied, yet the girl only chewed her lip, as if debating something internally.

"What's your name?"

He looked at her. This could be a trick. But what should she gain by knowing?

"Zuko." He said quietly.

"Namaste. I am called Swift."

Zuko had heard of that first word before, it meant something, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. Then it hit him, he'd heard a historian discussing it with his uncle in the palace in his youth, and the wonder of it resounded within him. "I honour the place in you that is of light, of truth, of love and of peace." He was silent. Honour is all he wanted in the world, and she gave it to him so freely, so openly, she recognised love and peace while acting as bait and sporting a wound given by hers truly.

"How..." Her voice was soft, curious, "How did you get so scarred? "

He shut down again. She didn't honour him, she was trying to lull him into a false sense of security, to weaken his resolve, and then attack. "It's nothing that your kind would understand. You're bubble wrapped with a pretence of peace and hope. Well I've learnt the lesson that life isn't kind. My scar is a permanent reminder. You don't know what that's like" He spat out venomously.

She paused for a moment. "The monks taught me that life is filled with hate and anger, but we accept it, we embrace bad fortune and turn it into good karma, putting out positive energy into the world. I'm sorry for my wording, Prince Zuko, but I did not mean your burn, but the scarring of the sadness inside you. But it seems you have answered me anyway." He looked away from her, not able to look her in the eye. "I too know the feeling of pain."

This irked him again, "Pah!" The fire rose in heat and height. She nodded once to herself, almost imperceptibly.

They sat in silence for the better part of an hour, the storm looked slightly better than it was before, but it was still nowhere near over. The fire was dimming, and he knew that he needed to get more fuel soon. He saw her start to shiver occasionally, looking into the fire calmly, as if focused on something far away. A small cough began within her but soon began to rise into a fit, and she fell onto her side, trying to catch her breath.

Zuko was not convinced that this was not another trick, though, and sat in his place, simply waiting it out.

She didn't ask for help, she only managed to suppress the convulsions and attempted to lift herself off the ground, it was proving somewhat difficult to sit upright again with her hands bound behind her, and the ice floor caught and stuck to her clothing. As she moved, her cloak snagged on a jagged piece of the frozen ground, falling off of her shoulders, taking with it the piece of robe that he had secured it to. The clasp broke and it too came off of her shoulder, peeling down so that she only wore her yellow breast band on her upper torso. He averted his eyes, he knew that he should replace it, the cold would soon get severe for her, and despite his best intentions, he looked over at her and sighed, going to pick himself up.

He stopped dead, she looked ever so slightly distressed at her predicament, and for a moment he thought it was her semi nudity, until he looked down to where her eyes cringed toward. He noticed for the first time that the skin of her entire stomach had a deep crimson burn welted in, it led up to her breasts, and licked around her sides.

He couldn't talk, the burn looked as deep as the darkest part of his own, but it spread for a lot further. He was engulfed in a feeling of shame, of how he had dismissed her life as fairy and wonderful. "Who.. Who did this to you? Soldiers?"

She shook her head silently. Biting her lip once more.

"Well, you're a monk, so at least I know it wasn't your father." He half joked, referring to his own, which somehow seemed more insignificant that he would have ever believed possible.

"Not mine."

He was shocked, who would have done this to her? She seemed to sweet and kind, surely she was too skilled to have been hurt like that in a battle.

"Then.. Who?"

She looked up at him, smiling weakly. "I've never shown anybody this. Not even my brother. So I better start from the beginning." She took a deep breath. "I loved a man in the fire nation once. Well, I guess I still do." Zuko was trying his best not to butt in and ask questions, was it the man when he found out she was an air bender? The authorities? A jealous wench? "We were together for a long time without anybody knowing. He wanted to run away with me and be a nomad as well." So, it wasn't the first option, he already knew. "We made all sorts of plans. But he was from a politically influential family, and he didn't want to tell them yet.

Well, one day his father found out, he saw some maps and plans that we'd put together, and he was enraged. They weren't close, Kuzon and his dad. He was strict, mean and rarely around. The man had not seen me much, I'd never stayed over at the house but once, but he knew where I stayed when I was in town. A small house that acted a hostel for foreign visitors. He came storming in one night, just after Kuzon had left. Screaming that I'd trapped his son into a marriage. He thought that I was pregnant, and his son was doing his duty and being an honourable man. I tried to explain it to him, but he struck me, I fell and he burned my stomach, hoping to bring on a miscarriage that never came, but he wanted to be sure, and just kept going. I was too paralysed with pain to move.

After I escaped, I went straight to my bison and flew home after getting some quick medical attention and bandaging en route. I didn't want Kuzon to see me that way, and the air-benders give the best medical aid after water healers. I hid it from everyone but the infirmary monks, I didn't even see my twin brother before the Avatar State froze us both."

Zuko was silent, shocked. Her story was as tragic as his, something he didn't think possible. He had no excuse for how he acted, if this woman could stay strong and kind, his bitterness was downright condemnable. It dawned upon him after hearing her last words that the brother she'd mentioned was Aang. The Avatar. The only person this girl had left in the world and the person he was trying to capture.

Fiery hell.


	9. The Avatar States

Aang jerked out of the spirit world like a bucket of cold water had been poured over him. It seemed he was still in the oasis, but things had changed.

The atmosphere was different, he noted that fact before he had even opened his eyes. The previously peaceful air had been overturned with swirling emotions and the smell of fire and blood.

When he did look around himself, he found that Yue was gone. This was odd, both because Sokka -her assigned protection- was still here, but also because Aang thought he could still feel her presence. He took a good look at Sokka. His friend had red eyes and tear stained cheeks, but wore a determined expression; his jaw was set and his eyebrows were knitted together. As he watched, the water tribe boy collected his rucksack and called Appa.

He'd been in his spirit state for a while now, and knew what he had to do to help these people, but what had gone on whilst he was absent? One of the generals of the Water Tribe was sobbing on his knees nearby, and the Dragon of the West stood quietly to the side, surrounded by collapsed Fire Nation soldiers.

He stood up, woozily, "Sokka, what happened?" Swaying as he spoke.

Sokka glanced at him with an empty expression, "Zhao murdered the spirit of Tui." He pointed toward the pond, where two koi fish swam in unison.

He realised then who the spirits of Tui and La were. "But... They're both okay.."

"Thank Yue for that." Sokka spat as his voice cracked. A foreboding came over Aang then, as he looked toward the silver glowing moon.

As he mulled over that feeling, he heard the crying of the man on the floor again, "Wh-who is that?" He pointed to Hahn.

"Her husband." Sokka replied, meaningfully.

Aang saw that he had jumped to conclusions about the Yue and Sokka, and he felt shame wash over him as well as grief.

"Sokka. I'm so sorry about what I said. It wasn't your fault that Swift disappeared. I was too quick to judge you. Have.. Have you found her?"

"She's been captured, Aang. I'm going to go find her."

"What?!" Aang exclaimed, "How did you find out?"

"Yue's spirit told me." He cringed at the sight Hahn's sobbing form.

Aang took a deep, significant breath. Both absorbing the definitive death of his friend, and the danger that his twin was in. "No. No I will not lose her again! I _will_ get her back." Almost on cue, the Avatar brought himself together, and his eyes glowed a magnificent blue. The man rose into the air, taking form of a giant beast of water and vengeance. Sokka didn't even have time to explain that it was Zuko, not the siege army that had captured his sister before he began his defence of the city.

* * *

Swift's eyes began to glow, and Zuko was afraid. She wasn't the Avatar, but her brother was. She seemed to have some sort of deep connection with him, and by association, his Avatar State. Her tattoos lit up in an ethereal way, and she stood up automatically, standing on the spot, as if she were held up by strings, a puppet. He was afraid for her. Her condition seemed an almost hypnotic state, and it dawned upon him that he should probably be more afraid for himself that else wise, if she thought him a threat.

With that in mind, he went to her feet, slicing open the ropes, and then to her wrists. He gasped in a sharp intake of breath, she wasn't kidding when she said her ropes were tight; her hands were almost purple with lack of oxygen, he immediately released them and she began to walk slowly toward the cave entrance.

Zuko wasn't sure what to do, he didn't want her to get hurt, but he also didn't want her to kill him without even thinking about it; he'd seen what the Avatar State could do. She slowly exited the cave and stood for a moment in the harsh blizzard, before raising her hands out in front of her in two directions. As if she possessed all the knowledge and power of past Air-benders, she twitched her fingers, and in the directions that she pointed, she drew out two wide and silent tunnels.

The air around them and down the tunnels stilled, warmed, even. The blizzard was still going on outside, but they were protected as if by glass. It was then that Zuko came to realise that one tunnel led to the Water Tribe, to the siege and to her brother, whereas the other led across the plain to his boat that rocked in the rough waters. He didn't realise how close they were, and probably would have over shot it by miles if he'd hadn't the guidance- and killed himself in the process.

He reeled. This woman was forever suprising him, even in a semi state of the Avatar, Swift took his safety into account; and saved him from a very cold and painful death.

She began walking away, and he took his cue to run his own route, watching the most inspiring person he'd ever met walk steadily to her destiny.

* * *

Aang was demolishing the fire nation in the city. Sokka actually worried that he might actually kill every soldier in their fleet, something that would haunt him for the rest of his days. He knew he had to get Swift before he did something he'd regret.

Climbing Appa, Sokka _yipped_ him into the air, flying above the city to give him a sweeping view of the city and battle field. Turning away, he looked toward the snowy planes, where something odd caught his eye. A path in the snow, a path of apparent emptiness led toward the city from the sea. Nearer to him, he saw a dim blue glow. At the other end of a spectrum, he caught sight of a small figure going into the water- onto a boat, he presumed. As soon as the figure left the plain, the path fell and the blizzard resumed as if no obstruction were ever there. As it fell, the glowing blue figure rose in the air, a ball of calm in the hazardous conditions, it shot like a bullet toward the city, getting bigger and bigger until Sokka realised that it was Swift.

She blew in like a hurricane in her own right, within a minute she was at her brother's side, assisting him in their defensive positions. The fire nation was retreating, and Sokka noticed Aang's violence significantly drop after noticing her presence, they were now fending off the horde in a purely defensive stance, and they had the army on the run.

Aang raised the sea in the move that Katara had once shown him, around the time they were chased by pirates. He repeated the move now, but a thousandth-fold, the ships rocked and crashed in the sea, and at the same time, he saw Swift gather herself, and strike at the air so that every person in the tribe would have felt the chill, despite her being a hundred feet above them all, the direct hit onto her target tore into the sails of the fire nation, forcing them on a one way trip south.


	10. A Celebration of Remembrance

There was a collective breath of relief in the air as the enemy ships were lost on the horizon. As the extent of destruction began to sink in, there were tears of grief, tears of anger and tears of overwhelming gratefulness. The damage could have so much worse. Had the Avatar and his sister not been around, the Northern Water tribe would have most likely been razed to the ground. Along with every man, woman and child.

As Sokka looked around, soldiers were pouring into the city in droves to search for their loved ones. He watched mothers embrace their wounded sons, husbands cry out in relief at the sight of their wives, and children wail for the fathers and mothers that would never return.

People began to realise that they were alive. Their families- at least in the case of the many- were still intact. Their homes may be damaged, some beyond repair, but they were replaceable, life wasn't. The noise started out as unidentifiable, almost indistinguishable, a clustered murmur of relief, but soon the sound grew, in strength and in exuberance. It raised itself to the status of a victory cry, people began to chant to the spirits, thumping the floor in a rhythmic, almost tribal beat. The beat increased, until the tension in the air was almost unbearable. Somebody began a cheer that became a roar of success. They had defeated the fire nation. The first people to do so in battle for almost one hundred years.

Sokka, as caught up as he was in the captivating scene unfolding before him, was equally ensnared by the sight of Swift and Aang, still in place, hovering fifty feet in the air and watching the horizon, as if challenging the army to return. Finally, the siblings, looking like spirits incarnate, began to descend to the ground, their glowing tattoos dimming and their expressions slacking, Sokka and Katara rushed to their side.

Katara pulled Aang into her arms, rocking him to her chest. He woke up, dazed, and looked into her eyes as his vision focused. He smiled weakly, and she bent down to kiss him fervently, no regard to what her brother, or anyone thought of their relationship. He returned in kind, and the two lay there for a while, leaning on each other.

Swift lay motionless, though, and when Sokka saw her brother wake up, only to be quickly distracted by his girlfriend, he worried. Shouldn't she have woken up by now? He was kneeling at her side, shaking her softly.

"Swift, Swift wake up." He whispered, not wanting to intrude on his sister's moment, but feeling concern build up in his stomach.

She simply lay still, the panic started then. "Swift." He almost begged, shaking her more "Swift, stop it, wake up!"

Aang and Katara noticed then, but Sokka was far beyond paying attention to anyone else but the lovely young air-bender that was making his heart beat eratically for all the wrong reasons. He looked at her closely, and wasn't sure if he could see the rise and fall of her chest, or if it was just a figment of his hopeful imagination.

Frantically, he checked for her pulse. Eventually he found it, but it was weak.

As if he were hearing it from the other side of a tunnel, he heard Aang's concern, voicing the fact that he often felt weak after he entered the Avatar State, but had grown used to it as he used it more. Swift was hardly used to using it at all, never mind for a battle of such magnitude. Her body simply wasn't used to it. She wasn't built for it like he was. The only reason she could participate in it at all must be the close genetics, he'd never heard of an Avatar who was a twin before, and was unsure of how it might affect her.

Sokka could hardly care less about the why, he was too focused on the what, and the what to do about it. "Come on, Swift, stay with me. Oh, my Swift, stay with me!" Her lifeless body lay still, and by this time he had pulled her into his arms, crying out in panic. Suddenly, he remembered something from his childhood. His Gran Gran reviving a child that had almost drown as he lay as lifeless as Swift on the icy planes of his homeland.

He pulled himself together, placing her flat on the ground and checking her pulse once more. It was even fainter now. He put his ear to her mouth and waited. His heart dropped into his stomach. He couldn't feel her breathing.

He pulled off her robe so that it was only her breast band on her upper torso, and placed the heel of one palm on her sternum, and placed two fingers from the other on to find the right compression depth, and began exerting short bursts of pressure, completing almost two compressions every second for thirty seconds. He wasn't noticing a difference! What else had Gran Gran done? Then he remembered, and hardly had time to blush before he put his mouth on hers, breathing life into her.

* * *

Swift felt darkness around her ebbing, changing, and a fuzzy consciousness began to emerge from the depths of her mind. She was suddenly aware of pressure on her, on her body and on her face; her lips, to be precise. She gasped a breath that felt so wonderful for some reason, and it was that pleasure that brought her eyes to open.

A deep, quick laugh of joy was the final pull from her revere, and the pressure removed itself, and she saw striking, shining blue eyes staring into her own. She realised that her face was damp with his rivulets of tears, and she smiled at the sensation lingering on her lips, and hoped she guessed the source correctly.

"Sokka!" Katara gasped, "That was amazing!"

He laughed, a deep, elated laugh from the bottom of his heart. "You're not the only potential healer in the family, little sister." His voice was giddy.

Aang was laughing too, his blood had drained from his face as his sister's life hung in the balance, he was quiet, helpless, thinking about reaching out to the spirit world for potential help, but Sokka had leapt into action before he could do anything. He threw his arms around her and she laughed, still a bit light headed as she sat up. "We make a heck of a team." She croaked. Aang sobbed a laugh in response, his emotions were all over the place, and didn't seem to want to make up their mind.

* * *

It had been a few days since the battle, and a festival was being held in it's honour, and a feast in remembrance of those who they'd lost.

Although they'd won the battle, the people finding out about their beloved Princess's fate was a terrible blow. On the one hand, it was a great honour, they literally _knew_ the spirit of the moon, their Yue was now immortal, and shone down on them every night. Yet the loss of her familiar face, beautiful soul and gentle spirit was evident in the faces of people passing by. Her line would live on in her daughter, but the motherless child felt the blow harder than anyone, Expect, perhaps Hahn.

Sokka had dressed in his finest garb for the occasion, but felt sorry for Swift, with only the robes on her back to her name, and even they had been torn and bloodied in the battle. He hadn't seen her since that morning, when she was helping a reconstruction project and talking to a child that seemed to have lost a parent. He watched as the naturally gifted woman turned a boy so morose that he'd forgotten what it was like to smile, into a giggling child again.

He left his apartment, still miraculously intact, but with a good eight other men living there until their homes were pieced back together. The women had a separate accommodation for the time being, while everybody was waiting out the repairs, and so he walked without his sister or Swift to the festivities, to the hum of subdued music and the twinkling candles that reflected in the river and mimicked the sky that danced it's own lights around Yue.

Entering the dedicated area, he smelt before he saw the huge banquet table set out in front. It held every delicacy he could think of from his home in the South Pole, and many more that excited and intrigued him. The was a band playing in the corner, and people danced and sung along, but it didn't have the frenzied air of a normal gathering, there was a respectful, soft atmosphere in the air, as people remembered, and gave thanks.

He was glad he'd dressed up to the nines, because everybody else had, too. Even the children wore formal outfits, though they had loosened collars and spilled lichie juice all over them more often than not. He thought of Swift again, poor woman, they'll have to get her some new clothes before they left. Though he doubted she'd be happy to get out of her robes. But there was no repairing them by now. He caught sight of Aang, who looked every bit of the Avatar. He was wearing his air nomad clothes, but had a golden wrap around, and wore his mala beads with the air-bender totem over it. He stood tall and confident, a five o'clock shadow on his chin, and Sokka was reminded that he wasn't the somewhat gangly kid he'd found in an iceberg so long ago. Katara stood at his side, she'd acquired a pretty dress from another water-bender, but they were both stood in conversation, chatting and laughing quietly and politely. He decided he'd rather find something more entertaining to do.

Unconsciously, a habit he wasn't sure when he picked up, though it was thoroughly engrained in his mind by now, he began scanning the room for Swift. Looking toward the dance floor, he almost looked away, not finding the tell tale robes, but something had caught his eye.

He did a double take, although they were not robes, somebody was wearing distinct orange and yellow in the sea of blue. The woman was facing away from him, and all he saw was two orange draping straps which fell off her slim shoulders to her waist, creating a deep plunged scoop back. A buttercup coloured band pulled in at her waist, and a white chiffon skirt fell to the ground elegantly.

He could see her dancing with an evidently delighted man, and she spun and twirled gracefully, in a way that left in his mind no doubt to her identity. It was so much like her way of flying, light, quick and with an enthralling simplicity.

The song ended and the two bowed to each other, the man eagerly rushing to his friends, gesturing toward the stunning dancer. She turned, still laughing gently. Her hair was curled and pinned up at her head, one twisting strand loosened down the side of her face. Somebody had done her eyes, darkened her lashes and reddened her lips.

She caught sight of him and grinned, oblivious to the deep emotions swirling within the helpless man.

As she approached, he went to meet her half way, struggling not to stammer, "May I have this dance?"

She smiled and nodded, though he thought he saw a flash of pain behind her eyes.

As they danced and conversed, he revelled in the feeling of her warm, smooth body in his arms. Every time she smiled up at him, he almost lost himself in her eyes, though she would often catch herself, and look down, almost ashamed.

"Why don't we get some air?" Sokka asked. Although they were technically outside, the area was crowded with breath, sweat and heat, with conversation filling the air almost as persistently.

"Sure, Sokka." She smiled.

As they exited the fray of people, the air began to get more chilly, the sound became quieter, the streets darker. They did not mind, though, under the light of the moon and the glimmering lanterns, it was still more than enough to see. She sat herself down beside the river, her toes skimming the surface of the water through her sandals.

"So, new dress?" Sokka asked, placing himself next to her.

"My robes were ruined, so I thought I'd at least make something out of them." She flushed in response to something in his tone.

"You made it? It looks stunning." Her blush deepened.

She said nothing, and they sat in silence for a minute, before he spoke, softly. "You don't know how scared I was when you were missing. How mortified I was about the last time we'd spoken. And when I thought you were.." there was a catch in his throat, and he didn't continue

She looked at him, with an expression almost like pity. "It doesn't matter. I know how much you..." She paused a moment, "Loved her. It was good you were there with her when it happened." She looked upset, and almost guilty.

He frowned. It was true, he did love Yue. In the short time they'd been here, she'd become one of his closest friends. But the way Swift said it, it sounded like she meant something more. "Yue was one of the best women I've ever met." He smiled softly, "There are few who could surpass such character." Sokka looked directly at her, momentarily lost in her gentle grey eyes. "She taught me a lot of things. Like not to let anything dissuade you from love."

Her heart twinged, but she'd expected that. She'd learnt that Yue was actually married, with a child, no less. For a moment she'd hoped that might mean nothing was there after all, but she could see now that that was just a naive hope.

"Yes," Swift said, trying to change the subject, "she taught me how to sew, I couldn't have made this dress without her lessons."

Sokka brightened, "Yes. She was amazing at that. In fact... I had a few lessons of my own."

Swift tilted her head, confused. It was not like Sokka to want to fix his own clothes, he usually let his sister do it all, and could be rather sexist about it, while he was at it. "Why did you take lessons? Not that you didn't need them." She laughed.

Sokka turned his body toward her, one leg dangling toward the river, his foot brushing hers. She gasped at the sudden intimacy, his face closer to hers than she'd ever remembered it. His expression was no longer doleful or playful. It had an intense quality to it, and his eyes searched hers, soaking her in, every detail, every perfect detail. He reached into his jacket, pulling out a delicately woven, sapphire blue strip of material. In the centre it held an intricate water-tribe symbol, though when the water lines twisted into waves, the beautiful spirals suddenly coiled into the universal air nomad emblem. "Because of this," he whispered, "she was helping me to make this." He never looked away from her eyes. Almost unconsciously, he gravitated closer toward her, until she could feel the warmth of his breath on her skin.

"I... don't understand." She breathed, overwhelmed and anxious, but with an entire swarm of butterfly bees going crazy in her stomach.

"Swift." Her name came off his lips like silk honey, "Will you accept my Promise?"


End file.
